YORK FILMS News and Views
Theft or coincidence? Plagiarism or a case of great minds think alike? Whatever the truth, the BBC plans a series called Seven Wonders of the Solar System - a strangely familiar idea that for two years or more York Films has touted around the networks with the title of, er, 7 WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM !!
And yes, together with submissions to several major overseas broadcasters, York Films offered 7 WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM to the BBC. The project was politely rejected by the very man who now, it seems, is executive producer of the BBC’s own Seven Wonders of the Solar System.
“Good luck with this idea elsewhere”, wrote the BBC man without a hint that he was steaming ahead with the same idea in-house – whether snitched from York Films or, as the BBC claim, independently conceived.
It would have been good to know for the sake of the four networks already committed to the York Films 50-minute HD CGI special – DR (Denmark), NRK (Norway), ORF (Austria) and SVT (Sweden). As it was, news of the BBC project came from a dismayed executive at National Geographic Channel (USA). It was he, all that time ago, who had dreamt up 7 WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM and at whose behest York Films developed the project.
So where does the BBC project leave the York Films co-production? Adrift in space? Alas, you can’t copyright an idea. 7 WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM is a terrific idea. Whether by fair means or foul, the BBC is more likely – quite possibly in association with a US network – to realise its project. York Films, on the other hand, still needs a big player to boost the modest contributions of the Austrians and Scandinavians to a necessarily substantial budget – HD CGI is quite expensive.
Without doubt, the York Films special is a tremendous show – succinct, pacy, well narrated, intellectually sound, packed with mouth-watering CGI and mercifully devoid of “talking heads”. Stretch that to multiple episodes, as the BBC plans, and the wonders may not be so wonderful.
So, what to do? Press ahead regardless and seek the missing budget? Or, accept that the BBC has muddied the waters, rendering our financial task more difficult than ever? You can anticipate the commissioners: “Isn’t BBC doing something similar? Why should we pre-buy or co-produce with York, when we can wait for the BBC offering”.
